“Monkey Man” Aniseed Drink Surges In Lockdown Baking Boom

It has been a good year for the Aniseed liqueur maker Anís de Mono who this year have been celebrating their 150th anniversary.

The brand is one of the country´s most  famous drinks has seen sales rise by nearly 17% this year partly it seems as the drink – often used in making cakes has seen a surge in home cooking due to the Covid lockdown.

Whilst bar sales have plummeted in 2020 retail sales of the aniseed liqueur known for its distinctive simian symbol and diamond-patterned bottle, have soared this year.

Figures from Spain’s food and agriculture ministry show that retail sales of alcohol in the second week of April, when the country was in lockdown, were up 85% on the same period in 2019. Beers sales rose by 86.5%, wine by 73.4% and spirits by 93.4%

Laura Díaz, the brand manager for Anís del Mono at the Osborne drinks group, said: “We think it’s very probably partly due to the increase in baking. A lot of people spent lockdown making pastries and desserts, which is why we saw shortages of flour and yeast. Easter also fell in lockdown, and in Spain, a lot of traditional Holy Week cakes and pastries, like rosquillas are made with anís.”

To check out some of their recommended recipes try here